Nairobi — The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K) has welcomed a High Court order issued in Nakuru suspending the engagement, procurement and payment of private advocates and law firms by public entities that already have in-house legal officers.
In a statement on Tuesday, the labour federation said the widespread outsourcing of legal services by national and county governments, state corporations and parastatals amounted to a serious governance failure and a waste of public resources.
"As the umbrella body representing Kenyan workers, COTU considers the rampant outsourcing of legal services to be a major cause of demoralisation of in-house lawyers and a direct threat to the sustainability of public institutions," the union said.
Billions lost to legal fees
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COTU claimed that billions of shillings in public funds had been paid to private law firms through what it termed outrageous fee notes, even as workers faced delayed salaries, stalled collective bargaining agreements, underfunded pensions and declining service delivery.
"It is very unfortunate that, in most cases, fees payable to outsourced legal services by far outmatch the costs of development and salaries paid to workers in many public institutions," the statement said.
The union went further to allege that the craze for outsourcing legal work pointed to the use of private law firms as conduits for corruption within public institutions.
COTU said it had consistently opposed outsourcing across the public sector, arguing that the practice fuels job insecurity and weakens worker morale, while financially draining institutions that are already struggling to meet payroll and social protection obligations.
According to the federation, the continued hiring of external lawyers has left many public bodies financially weakened, exposing workers to delayed wages and worsening working conditions.
The workers union body said that in cases where public institutions lack the capacity to handle complex legal matters, such cases should be referred to the Office of the Attorney-General or to county attorneys, rather than private law firms.
"The Attorney-General, county attorneys and other government legal officers are well-trained professionals employed to serve public entities and secure public interest," COTU said.
COTU also called for improved terms of service and continuous professional training for government legal officers to help retain top legal talent in the public sector and reduce dependence on costly external counsel.
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The union said it fully supports the High Court's conservatory orders and endorsed calls for the empanelment of an expanded bench to hear the matter, citing its wide constitutional, financial and labour implications.
"The suspension of this practice pending full hearing and determination is in the public interest," the statement said.
The High Court has issued sweeping conservatory orders halting the engagement and payment of private advocates by all public entities.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Samuel Mukira on Monday, the court suspended all ongoing and future engagements of private law firms by public bodies.
The order applies in cases where government-employed lawyers already exist, including the Attorney-General, state counsel, county attorneys, and other in-house legal officers.
"A conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the engagement, procuring, continuing to procure, pending payments, all engagements of private advocates/law firms by all public entities when there is already a hired attorney general, state counsel, solicitor general, county attorneys, county legal counsels, legal officers and legal personnel of all public entities," Justice Mukira ordered.
